on 21-Sep-2020 (Mon)

IRDAI forms panel to mull surety bonds

Ola enables in-app ‘tipping’ globally

CAPA - Centre for Aviation, part of the Aviation Week Network, is one of the world’s most trusted sources of market intelligence for the aviation and travel industry. Our unrivalled reputation for independence and integrity means you get the whole story, with powerful data and in-depth insights on the news, issues and trends that are shaping our industry.

The government plans to impose 20% basic customs duty duty on imported solar panels to boost the domestic industry, the sources said. Solar developers have been largely dependent on Chinese equipment.

Coal India Ltd. (CIL) and NLC India will jointly develop solar power assets of 3,000 MW with a likely investment of about ₹12,000 crore, sources said on Saturday.

The two state-run companies had on Friday said they would form a JV to develop 5,000 MW of solar and thermal power assets across the country.

Adani Transmission to acquire Alipurduar Transmission from Kalpataru

Indonesia imposed a 10% value-added tax on sales by technology firms including Amazon, Netflix, Spotify and Google on Tuesday, as spending patterns shift with increased remote working as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, which has hit state finances.

Amidst the clamour to ban China made goods, the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs has sent out a reminder to all e-commerce portals to ensure that the “country of origin” of the products being sold by them should be mentioned as part of mandatory declarations.

Government bans 59 apps including China-based TikTok, WeChat

“At a time when we are pushing for ‘Made in India’ products, it is equally necessary for our consumers to know exactly where the products that they are buying are coming from,” Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said at an online press conference on Thursday.

The Ministry in its reminder invoked the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. These rules make it mandatory for all manufacturers to declare the package name and address of the manufacturer, common and generic name of commodity, net quantity, month and year of manufacturing, MRP and consumer care details. In addition to these, in 2017, new provisions were added for e-commerce websites such as Amazon, Flipkart and so on, making it compulsory for them to display these information along with “declaration of country of origin or manufacture or assembly” and a clear mention of expiry date.

The Ministry in its reminder invoked the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. These rules make it mandatory for all manufacturers to declare the package name and address of the manufacturer, common and generic name of commodity, net quantity, month and year of manufacturing, MRP and consumer care details. In addition to these, in 2017, new provisions were added for e-commerce websites such as Amazon, Flipkart and so on, making it compulsory for them to display these information along with “declaration of country of origin or manufacture or assembly” and a clear mention of expiry date.

Also read: Centre tighten norms for e-commerce companies for sale of products

There are punitive provisions in the law. For the first offence, a penalty up to ₹25000 can be charged, for the second offence, the fine may extend to ₹50,000. Any subsequent offences can attract a jail term of one year.

Bharat Forge Ltd. (BFL), in collaboration with AI start up Blackstraw, has introduced Health Risk Monitoring System (HRMS), an AI based solution that enables companies and institutions to comply with Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines for safe reopening.

HRMS, an intelligent video analytics solution, has been developed to empower workplaces with worker safety, and is aligned with the future dependability of enterprises on technology and AI to monitor compliance of MHA policies by employees.

The solution includes thermal screening through cameras and RFID reader which alerts administrators when social distancing norms are not met or if an employee is not wearing a face mask

This is the thirteenth consecutive rate cut by the lender since July last year.

The country’s largest lender State Bank of India has also reduced its MCLR by 5-10 basis points (bps) for shorter tenors, effective Friday.

Another state-run Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has cut its MCLR by up to 25 bps across tenors.

Earlier this week, Canara Bank and Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) also reduced their MCLRs by 10 bps and 20 bps, respectively across all tenors.

“Moody’s expects the GDP of most ASEAN economies and India will contract in 2020 and gradually recover in 2021.

“The relaxation of lockdowns and resumption of economic activity will be the key factors supporting the recovery,” the report said.

FMCG sales in June at pre COVID-19 levels: Nielsen

RIL, he said, was transforming its energy business to make it net carbon-zero by 2035. “We have a 15-year vision to build Reliance as one of the world’s leading new energy and new materials company,” Mr. Ambani added.

He said the new energy business would make clean and green energy abundantly available at an affordable price to every Indian, every enterprise and every utility.

Sanitisers are disinfectants like soap, will attract 18% GST: Finance Ministry

The Goa bench of Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) had recently ruled that alcohol-based hand sanitisers will attract 18% duty under GST.

Although the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has classified hand sanitisers as an essential commodity, the GST law has a separate list of exempted goods.

Remdesivir is the only drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) treatment of adult and paediatric patients hospitalised with suspected or laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infection.

Covifor is the first generic brand of Remdesivir, which is meant for treatment of COVID-19 patients that are adults and children, hospitalised with severe symptoms of the disease.

“The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at (-1.81%) (provisional) for June compared to 2.02% during the corresponding month of the previous year,” the Industry Ministry said.

India (Hindi: Bhārat), officially the Republic of India (Hindi: Bhārat Gaṇarājya),^[23] is a country in South Asia. It is the second-most populous country, the seventh-largest country by land area, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;^[f] China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.

The Election Commission of India (EC), on February 21, clarified that NRI voters cannot cast votes online, and that an NRI who holds an Indian passport can vote in his/her hometown after registering as an overseas voter.

The U.S. has threatened to eject Turkey from the F-35 aircraft programme and impose more sanctions.

It matters not that the respondent is the head of the judiciary. He or she must be held to the same standard that is used in all other such cases. The independence of the judiciary and constitutional protections given to judges do not transform into an immunity shield. If the accusation was not of sexual harassment, but of any other grave charge like violence, would a confidential, in-house inquiry have been resorted to? Such an inquiry, if it had proceeded ex parte after the complainant’s withdrawal, would not have been deemed sufficiently fair.

The immediate impact of the listing would subject Azhar to an assets freeze, travel ban, and an arms embargo. Assets freeze means that all states are required to freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities. By virtue of the arms embargo, all nations are required to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale and transfer from their territories or by their nationals outside their territories of arms and related material of all types to designated individuals and entities.

Article 329 of the Constitution has barred courts from interfering in electoral matters after the election process has been set in motion. In a long chain of judgments, the Supreme Court has reiterated that provision and restrained all courts from intervening.

Apart from the manner of appointment, the provision for the removal of Election Commissioners also needs correction. At present, only the CEC is protected from being removed (except through impeachment). One has to remember that the Constitution enabled protection to the CEC as it was a one-man Commission initially. This must now be extended to other Commissioners, who were added in 1993, as they collectively represent the EC.

The work of polling agents includes ensuring that EVMs and VVPATs are in order, detecting and preventing impersonation of voters, and helping to secure and seal the EVMs, VVPATs and election records after polling is over. Those holding government positions and those who have been given security cover at the state’s expense, including Ministers, are not allowed to be polling agents.

as shown in a recent study which named India as the second most unequal society in the world. According to Credit Suisse Research Institute’s Global Wealth Report, 1% of the Indian population owns 51.5% of the wealth in the country, and the top 10% own about three-fourths of the wealth. On the other hand, the bottom 60%, the majority of the population, own 4.7% of the total wealth.

Sri Lankans are yet to fully comprehend the dreadful Easter blasts that shook the country less than a fortnight ago, killing over 250 people across churches and hotels in and around the capital Colombo, and in this eastern city some 300 km away.

the Second Belt and Road Forum (BRF), reviewing progress of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), concluded in Beijing on April 27, China had reason to be satisfied. The summit segment was attended by 37 heads of state or government. The list included strategic partner Russia and almost all from Central and Southeast Asia, two important areas of BRI operation.

What happens when two candidates in a constituency poll the same number of votes? According to Section 102 of the Representation of the People Act, if there is equality of votes and if one additional vote would entitle either of them to win, and if no decision has been made by the Returning Officer under the provisions of the Act, then the High Court decides by a lot. The candidate who wins the lottery wins the election.

In its Paris Agreement commitments, India had pledged to reduce its intensity of GDP emissions by 33-35% over 2005 levels and at Copenhagen, by 20 to 25%. Are we in sync with what is needed from us

The Assam government recently informed the Supreme Court that it has submitted a ₹900 crore proposal to the Ministry of Home Affairs for sanctioning 1,000 Foreigners Tribunals to decide the cases of those to be excluded from the final NRC list. The State has a hundred Foreigners Tribunals at present.

This year alone, eight paralysed children with wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) have been found in Pakistan.

When India eliminated WPV1 in January 2011

The OPV is cheap and easy to give to children, but it has to be given to them again and again in pulse campaigns since its efficacy is poor. On the other hand, the IPV is highly efficacious and needs to be given just two-three times as part of routine immunisation.

The OPV has another problem. If coverage declines (as is bound to happen in Pakistan), vaccine viruses will spread to children who are not vaccinated, back-mutate, de-attenuate and become virulent. Such viruses are called circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV). They can cause polio outbreaks. Thus Pakistan will soon be at risk of polio outbreaks by both WPV1 and cVDPV.

It is to avoid the emergence of cVDPV that India strives to maintain high OPV coverage through routine immunisation, Mission Indradhanush and annual national pulse campaigns.

he threat of American sanctions on Turkey following the latter’s decision to buy S-400 missile defence systems from Russia has also contributed greatly to tensions between the two countries. Therefore, it is unlikely that Turkey will bend completely to American will although it may do so partially to placate its NATO ally.

The U.S. is India’s largest trading partner and a leading source of foreign investment. It has become increasingly important in the strategic arena as well because of the convergence of American and Indian interests regarding containing China in the Indo-Pacific region.

India is heavily involved in building the Chabahar port in southern Iran. This port is expected to become a major access route for India not only to Iran but also to Afghanistan and Central Asia bypassing hostile Pakistani territory.

A uniform swing is the percentage swing in votes from one party to another. A uniform swing is viewed as a movement of the pendulum. Assuming a swing is uniform, then in theory, every seat up to the new point of the pendulum would change party. This definition applies to two-party systems and not to a multi-party system like India. Swings do take place in India in States and they can be reasonably uniform in a particular State, but not across the country.

The aim of the National Nutrition Strategy of 2017 is to achieve a malnutrition-free India by 2022. The plan is to reduce stunting prevalence in children (0-3 years) by about three percentage points per year by 2022 from NFHS-4 levels, and achieve a one-third reduction in anaemia in children, adolescents and women of reproductive age.

The team at St. Andrews demonstrated a method called Raman spectroscopic analysis to examine the liquids in the bottle. Raman spectroscopy is a powerful and popular method to gain information at the molecular level, the method having a wide range of applications in biomedicine, cultural heritage, and defence.

In the context of whiskey, a laser beam is focused on the bottle. This generates Raman signals from the alcoholic spirit inside the bottle. However, glass is a highly Raman active substance, often masking regions of interest within the bottle. Unwanted signals originating from the glass bottle itself can significantly interfere with signals from the bottle's contents, reducing their effectiveness. This is a major obstacle with the method, researchers said.

They noted that when facing cross-winds, birds at inland sides preferred drifting, while those flying near the Atlantic coast oriented and tracked away from the coast. These behaviours suggest that birds migrate in an adaptive way to conserve energy.

“The early Pliocene period [5 million years ago] had atmospheric carbon dioxide levels which [we can relate to] to today - slightly above 400 ppm - and temperatures are 2 to 3 degrees Celsius higher than at the moment. Looking at our data, we can see that during this period a major glacier system along the East Antarctic coast showed signs of retreat and increased melt water output,”

The team studied nine periods in the climatic and glacial histories of Antarctica, starting from 34 million years ago when the first major continental-size ice sheet of Antarctica was established. They also looked at the mid-Miocene (about 14 million years ago) when the mean global temperature was 4 degrees Celsius warmer than today.

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet for Mission Alpha next year,

Gaganyaan mission that aims to send three Indians to space by 2022.

France has a well-established mechanism for space medicine. It also has the MEDES (French Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology) space clinic, a subsidiary of CNES, where space surgeons undergo training.

“Even today, the CSIR gets royalty on the indelible ink it had developed [which is used in elections and in use since the first general election]. All labs have been asked to work at their best and excel. And that will help us not only meet the Dehradun targets but exceed them.

CSIR labs vary widely in earnings: RTI

Previous studies have shown that this demise of the Green Sahara also caused the collapse of the Akkadian Empire of Mesopotamia and the de-urbanisation of the Indus Valley Civilization.

The data suggested that during this period the Sahara started losing its vegetation. The reduced plant growth led to increased airborne dust which cooled the Indian Ocean, shifted the atmospheric circulation patterns and caused a condition similar to today’s El Niño events.

This ultimately led to a large reduction in monsoon moisture across Southeast Asia that lasted more than 1,000 years

About 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, a severe drought crippled countries of Southeast Asia forcing a shift in human settlement patterns of the area.

Researchers at RMIT University have developed electronic skin that can sense pain just like real skin. It can also sense and react to changes in temperature and pressure.

The researchers say that the device is capable of mimicking body’s quick response to things, and can react to painful sensations with the same lighting speed that nerve signals travel to the brain.

“It means our artificial skin knows the difference between gently touching a pin with your finger or accidentally stabbing yourself with it – a critical distinction that has never been achieved before electronically,” Rahman added.

The Starlink satellites operate in low Earth orbit at 550 km. Each satellite weighs about 260kg, features a single solar array, and is equipped with ion thruster. The satellites use the ion thrusters to raise to orbit, manoeuvre in space, and deorbit at the end of their life.

SpaceX says Starlink internet private beta testing speeds are over 100 Mbps

The Chandrayaan-1 data indicate that the moon’s poles are home to water, this is what the scientists are trying to decipher, the statement added.

$(document).ready(function () { // Removing empty paragraphs first $("#content-body-14269002-32538382 p").filter(function () { var html = $.trim($(this).html()); if (html == '' || html == ' ') return true; }).remove(); // Taking a subset of paragraphs using offset and maximum var offset = 1; var max = -1; if (offset > 1) { $("#content-body-14269002-32538382").children().slice(0, offset - 1).remove(); } if (max > -1) { $("#content-body-14269002-32538382").children().slice(max).remove(); } // Show dateline field at the beginning of the first paragraph var showDateline = false; var datelineStr = "New Delhi"; if (offset <= 1 && showDateline == true && datelineStr != "") { var firstChild = $("#content-body-14269002-32538382").children().get(0); if ("P" == firstChild.nodeName.toUpperCase()) { $(firstChild).prepend("" + datelineStr + " - "); } else { $(firstChild).before("" + datelineStr + ""); } } }); var btshow = document.querySelector(".subarticlepay"); userIdentify.then(function() { geoIdentify.then(function() { if(isNonSubcribedUser() && (__isIncognito || MeterPaywallCount > TotalMeterPaywallCount && typeof ArticleID != "undefined" && ArticleID.length != 0 && !ArticleID.includes("32538382")) && (location.hostname.indexOf(".com") > 0 || location.hostname.indexOf(".in") > 0) && (getStorage("geo") == null || getStorage("geo").continent != "EU")){ if(__isIncognito){ ga('send', 'event', "MeterpaywallIncognito", "Meterpaywall-view","Meterpaywallblock",{'nonInteraction': 1}); clvpageevents("Meter Paywall Incognito"); } else{ ga('send', 'event', "Meterpaywall", "Meterpaywall-view","Meterpaywallblock",{'nonInteraction': 1}); clvpageevents("Meter Paywall"); $(function () { if(typeof sendTaiData !== "undefined" ) { taiDataObject['etime'] = "" + new Date().getTime(); taiDataObject['meterpaywallblock'] = "meterpaywallblock_view"; taiData.push(taiDataObject); sendTaiData(taiData, 'meterpaywall'); } }); } if(typeof planList ==="function"){ planList(); } btshow.style.display = "block"; var bodyid = document.querySelector('[id^=content-body]').id; var bodyselector = document.getElementById(bodyid); while (bodyselector.children.length > 1) { bodyselector.removeChild(bodyselector.lastChild); } } else{ btshow.parentNode.removeChild(btshow); } }); }); if(__isIncognito){ document.querySelectorAll(".planTodayDiv")[0].innerText="Subscribe to The Hindu to continue reading in private mode."; document.querySelectorAll(".planTodayDiv")[1].innerText=""; } $(document).ready(function () { $('a.tweetable').click(function(){ var text = $(this).text(); $('[href*="#"]').attr('href', 'https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text='+text+" "+url); }); }); userIdentify.then(function() { if(isDeviceEnabled("[large, medium]") && isNonSubcribedUser()) { googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1591766927070-0'); }); } });

An American commercial cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station has been named after fallen NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla, the first India-born woman to enter space, for her key contributions to human spaceflight

Northrop Grumman is proud to name the NG-14 Cygnus spacecraft after former astronaut Kalpana Chawla

A breezy 110 km drive to the northeast of Kota in Rajasthan takes you to a huge impact crater that has kept researchers busy for years. Known as the Ramgarh structure, it is India’s third confirmed impact structure.

“The Chicxulub crater of Mexico which is about 170 km in diameter wiped out nearly 90% of life on earth. The Ramgarh structure could have had an effect on the flora and fauna of western Indian Subcontinent.

“Also, the structure is roughly rectangular, unlike the simple, bowl shaped Lonar crater of Maharashtra. This structural pattern is roughly consistent with the oblique impact,” he adds.

“Also, the structure is roughly rectangular, unlike the simple, bowl shaped Lonar crater of Maharashtra. This structural pattern is roughly consistent with the oblique impact,” he adds.

Another study published in Meteoritics & Planetary Science reveals that the impact structure has an approximately 10 km diameter. The new findings aided by remote sensing and digital imagery shows the diameter to be much higher than the previously noted diameter of about 2.5 km.

Low-cost device for deep vein thrombosis

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) performed a major technological feat on September 7 when it flew a cruise vehicle at a hypersonic speed of Mach six for 20 seconds. The DRDO called the cruise vehicle Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV). The centrepiece of the HSTDV was the indigenously developed air-breathing scramjet engine, which formed the HSTDV’s propulsion system. If the mission’s aim was to prove this air-breathing scramjet engine in flight, it was achieved.

The team at St. Andrews demonstrated a method called Raman spectroscopic analysis to examine the liquids in the bottle. Raman spectroscopy is a powerful and popular method to gain information at the molecular level, the method having a wide range of applications in biomedicine, cultural heritage, and defence.

In the context of whiskey, a laser beam is focused on the bottle. This generates Raman signals from the alcoholic spirit inside the bottle. However, glass is a highly Raman active substance, often masking regions of interest within the bottle. Unwanted signals originating from the glass bottle itself can significantly interfere with signals from the bottle's contents, reducing their effectiveness. This is a major obstacle with the method, researchers said.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's neuroscience startup Neuralink on Friday unveiled a pig named Gertrude that has had a coin-sized computer chip in its brain for two months, showing off an early step toward the goal of curing human diseases with the same type of implant.

Co-founded by Tesla Inc and SpaceX CEO Musk in 2016, San Francisco Bay Area-based Neuralink aims to implant wireless brain-computer interfaces that include thousands of electrodes in the most complex human organ to help cure neurological conditions like Alzheimer's, dementia and spinal cord injuries and ultimately fuse humankind with artificial intelligence.

Tamil Nadu has emerged as the country’s top investment destination in the first quarter of this financial year, even as overall fresh investment announcements in India slumped to the lowest in five years amidst a period marred by the extended pandemic-induced lockdown.